Muslim leaders seek judicial probe into Mangaluru firing

As Mangaluru witnessed an uneasy calm due to curfew following violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on Thursday and two deaths in police firing, Muslim leaders called for a judicial probe into the incidents.

The bodies of the two persons, Naushin and Abdul Jalil Kudroli, killed in the police firing were taken from the mortuary to Masjid-Ul-Ehshan in the city where mass prayer was conducted before being taken to the burial grounds.

Speaking to media persons at Masjid-Ul-Ehshan, the community leaders demanded a judicial inquiry into Thursday’s incidents.

Umar UH, president of Muslim Writers’ Association, Mangaluru, said that people have the right protest peacefully. He alleged that Thursday’s firing was ‘pre-planned golibar’.

He said the Muslim Central Committee of Mangaluru had met on December 18 and decided to observe protest against the CAA on December 28. However, a few youths took out a protest march on Thursday when the prohibitory order was in place.

He urged that the government initiate a judicial inquiry in this matter.

Ashraf K, member of Popular Front of India, said that there are standard operating procedures before firing on a violent crowd. He alleged that police did not follow that. Apart from two deaths, six persons are seriously injured, he said.

Seeking a judicial probe in the firing, he said the government should also announce compensation to the families of the victims.

Mohammed Yahya, brother of Abdul Jalil Kudroli, one of the victims, said that his brother was working in Old Mangaluru Port area as a supervisor in fisheries harbour. His brother had come out from his home when he heard about the violent protests. He was hit in the eye by a bullet in the police firing, he said.

Earlier in the day, K Harish Kumar, president of Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee and MLC, alleged that police had burst teargas shells inside the hospital where the injured persons were admitted.

Unlawful assembly

The Mangaluru City Police Commissioner, PS Harsha, said that there was an unlawful assembly of people on Thursday in spite of prohibitory orders in the city. The crowd had turned violent posing threat to public life and property.

Stating that the situation became worse at Kudroli area under the Mangaluru north police station at around 4 pm. A crowd of around 5,000 people had surrounded the police station and attacked the public and police. Police used legitimate force to handle the situation, he said.

Police is fully in control of the situation. Curfew has been imposed in the city till midnight of December 22. Mobile internet services in the city and Dakshina Kannada district have been suspended for 48 hours from 10 pm of December 19. In Mangaluru, the Dakshina Kannada district administration has extended the holidays for schools and colleges to Saturday.

Congress leaders detained

The police detained a team of Congress leaders at Mangaluru International Airport on Friday afternoon. The leaders said they had come from Bengaluru to console the families of Naushin and Abdul Jalil Kudroli, who were killed during the police firing.

The leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, SR Patil;former Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Ramesh Kumar; former Karnataka Home Minister, MB Patil; and other Congress leaders such as VS Ugrappa and Basavaraja Rayareddy were part of the team.

Harsha, said that seven persons have been taken into custody in connection with the violence on Thursday in which 33 policemen and five civilians were injured.

Earlier in the day, the police detained seven Kerala journalists who had gone to the Government Wenlock Hospital where the bodies of the victims who died in Thursday’s firing were kept. They were handed over to Kerala police at around 4 pm.